Source Lunch with ... John Michael

Broadcaster, Cleveland Cavaliers

John Michael has an engineering degree, a master's degree, and he graduated from Notre Dame Law School. He was a successful construction attorney for Kirkpatrick & Lockhart (now K&L Gates), a large international law firm based in Pittsburgh. But sports was always his passion, and that drive led him to making what, at the time, seemed like an almost unfathomable choice — Michael gave up a legal career with a "healthy" six-figure salary to be the play-by-play voice of a Class A baseball team.

It was "one of those now-or-never" moments that paid off for Michael.

But first he had to work his way up the ladder, from the Hagerstown Suns to doing play-by-play for a trio of minor league hockey teams (including the Cleveland Monsters), and eventually to the Columbus Blue Jackets (he was the bench reporter for Fox Sports Ohio) and the Cavs.

The 45-year-old has been the latter's radio voice since the 2011-12 season.

Q&amp;A

What made you want to make the full-time switch to broadcasting?

To be honest, I was enjoying the practice of law a lot. I was making my way up the law firm, progressing, but there was something about the draw of going to an arena or going to a stadium instead of going to court all the time that made sense. And if I would be able to actually get paid to talk about sports for a living, that might be something that I enjoy.

So you had to take a little bit of a pay cut, I'm guessing?

(Laughing) Yeah, just a little bit.

As if your road to an NBA play-by-play job wasn't already unique, you also replaced Joe Tait. How did you look at that?

It was a little difficult to reconcile at first, but I think in the end, I said, "You know, this guy is a Hall of Famer, virtually the only play-by-play broadcaster the organization has ever had." Obviously, those were huge shoes to fill, and who did they look to? That's not something to be nervous about. That's something to take pride in and carry on the great broadcasting or carry on the mantle, however you want to do it, in terms of the pride he brought to the area, how he carried himself and everything else. I was honored, put it that way, to be the guy who was named to replace Joe Tait.

You were three years into the job when LeBron announced that he was returning. Did you look at it like your job was changing because the Cavs were going from a lottery team to the most high-profile team in the league?

No, I didn't look at it like that. I think I prepare for every game the same way. I think I prepare for every season the same way, in that if it ends in mid-April, fine. If it ends in June, OK, June. A lot of people have said to me, "Your job must be so much more fun now that you're heading to the Finals every single season." One set (of answers) is of course, because it's exciting to be around a team that's having success, it's exciting to be around a happy plane, a happy organization, a place where everyone is feeling good about themselves and looking forward to having a chance to win the whole thing. On the other hand, I was having a lot of fun the first three seasons. I always have a lot of fun doing what I do. I don't want to say the result of the game or the result of the season is secondary, but at the same time, I don't think it takes away from how happy I am to be in the position I am, to be able to call NBA games for a living.

You're pretty good at throwing stats out on Twitter. Is that something you enjoy?

When I was practicing law, what I did to unwind was get my hands around numbers and read about sports and everything else. Now that's what I do for a living. That's easy for me, and that's interesting for me. I enjoy that aspect of the job. I don't do it for social media. I do it to enhance our listeners' enjoyment of a game. If it happens to be something I can fire out on Twitter, terrific. But the idea is so that our listeners can best enjoy the game. Obviously, research is critical, and it goes a long, long way to making a broadcast entertaining. That's the bottom line. It's not about me. It's about our listeners. That has been my approach from the get-go.

When you're calling a game like Game 7 (of the 2016 NBA Finals), when a city hasn't won a championship in 52 years, are you thinking, "OK, if it does end the way I think it could, what am I going to do?"

Well, here's what happens. When you go into the game, you of course have things that you think you want to say, but when the moment starts getting close, they all start getting jumbled because, first of all, the game is going on and it's such a wild game. I think if you script out that moment, it comes out sounding rehearsed. You need to have a moment of just let it fly.

What advice do you have for young broadcasters?

I'd start with just be yourself. My biggest advice is the sport is too spectacular, the athleticism is too terrific … Just call the game. Know the game, be yourself, it's not about you. It's about the moment and these players. Let's celebrate the game, let's celebrate these players, instead of trying to celebrate yourself.

What's the best part of your job?

Being able to go to the arena every day. Being able to watch and talk about stuff that I love. If I was in a normal profession, I likely would be enjoying sports during my free time. To be able to do this, I think is the greatest.

Lunch spot

Gourmand's

5345 Canal Road, Valley View

216-328-0942

gourmandsdeli.com

The meal

One had a beef and lamb gyro with a soft drink, and the other had a corned beef sandwich with a soft drink.

The vibe

Gourmand's isn't big. Nor is it fancy. But it's an excellent sandwich shop that has a wide variety of selections and is well worth the visit. (There are plenty of vegetarian options, too.)

Michael and his wife, Julie, have a 4-year-old daughter, Katelyn, and 2-year-old son, Jake.

His wife was the star athlete

Michael played four sports in high school, but the former Julie Maund was the captain of Notre Dame's women's soccer team in 1997-98.

The price of victory

Early in his legal career, Michael handled his first solo trial, and he prevailed. "You win the case, you come back to the office and everybody is celebrating, and the emails go out. ... But then I close the door in my office and I'm like, 'Was that really worth six months of hell?' "

Hobbies? Not really

Michael keeps it simple — he said it's all about family and sports for him.

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